It feels like just seconds ago that England were in action exiting the World Cup in very disappointing fashion, however we’re already back to the international stuff with the start of the Nations League, and up first for Tuchel post-World Cup is a clash against the current reigning world champions Spain, in a chance to pit themselves against the team they would have faced in the final of this summer’s tournament had they progressed.

In our preview of the game we are going to take a look at the team news coming into the game including our predicted XI for this one, we will have a look at some of the key battles and players to watch and then of course we will make a prediction for how this one could play out.

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Team News

There’s lots to wait and see about for the England squad selection from back to front. In goal, there’s talk this post-World Cup period could see the transition from Pickford to Trafford as the new England no.1 after a long and fairly successful tenure as the starting choice between the sticks.

Meanwhile in defence, it’s likely Lewis Hall will begin his case to become the first-choice left-back after missing out on the World Cup squad, the centre back pairing picks itself with Guehi and Konsa, and a start for Quansah is expected, but we could see Trent involved at some point, but this is up for debate as Tuchel seems to still not feel certain on the Real Madrid man.

In the midfield, with Rice and Mainoo missing, I’d expect Anderson to be paired with Alex Scott, who could also interchange with O’Reilly, Lewis-Skelly or even Bellingham if he wants to play Rogers from the start. I’d think Tuchel will take the more safe option of Scott-Anderson to battle against the midfield control Spain possess.

In attack, it’s the more obvious selection with Gordon-Bellingham-Saka supporting Kane, and while there are still options from the bench, it’s likely to remain this choice going forward for some time.

Predicted XI: Trafford, Hall, Guehi, Konsa, Quansah, Scott, Anderson, Gordon, Bellingham, Saka, Kane

Key Battles

There will be battles all-over in this clash depending on how Spain control the game. England’s attack will need to be on top form against a Spain team who rarely concede and have a real cohesion in their defensive unit. For England’s defence, they will have to switch on against the Yamal-Williams wide options and with Ferran Torres on top of the world after this summer the centre-backs will be all-too aware of his ability to finish chances.

The biggest interest could be in the midfield, as the control of Rodri-Pedri-Ruiz etc is genuinely as good as it gets in terms of controlling a game. They can set the pace, help manage the threat of Bellingham and put a huge amount of pressure on England to be able to show patience and focus as they need to maintain large periods out of possession.

Prediction

This will certainly be a test of the next few years under Tuchel, as personally I fell into the camp of fans who feels Tuchel should have moved on after the summer, but with a clear intention for him to lead England at least into Euro 2028, they need to use these opportunities to test themselves against the very best.

It will more than likely be a tough clash to manage, as Spain have the inevitable feeling about their performances in recent years, and with England losing some key options at the start of the international break, it will be the strongest available XI which can cause issues for the Spain defence, but I believe could have issues in a defensive sense against Lamine Yamal and co.

England 2-2 Spain

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